British American Tobacco Raised to Buy

Source from:  Market Watch 09/07/2010

British American Tobacco PLC (UK:BATS 2,315, +4.00, +0.17%) was raised Monday to buy from neutral at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, which said the firm should be able to deliver over time total shareholder returns of 14% per year. "Further cost savings potential and emerging market exposure (estimated at 60% of sales) enhance BAT's medium-term growth prospects," the broker said. "Clearly, BAT's relative share price performance will be impacted in the short term by sector rotation into or out of defensive sectors." Shares of the firm gained 0.2% on the London Stock Exchange. Enditem